Bowling for Columbine

When I walked into class and saw that we were going to watch a Michael Moore documentary, I immediately had some preconceived notions about what the movie was going to be like. I had just finished watching his documentary on George Bush, Fahrenheit 911, and I realized how biased he was towards political issues. However, I was glad to see that Bowling for Columbine was much more straight-forward, presenting facts from both sides of the argument of gun control. The one thing that stood out to me the most was the statistic that Moore gave about the relationship between actual gun murders and the amount that is covered by the media. I forget the exact number, but basically he stated that there has been a decline in the number of gun-related deaths over the years, but the media's coverage has gone up by like 3,000%. I think this really speaks to the way we are evolving as a society. Forty years ago, people turned on the news mostly to hear stories about political events, war, and other stories that actually effected the lives of every day citizens. Today, the majority of our news is made up homicides, robberies, and mass murders on the loose when, in reality, they only directly effect a very small group of people. It seems like the news is attempting to cater to our desire as a society to hear shocking news stories. In media class, we learned about this theory called "mean world syndrome." Basically, it stated that the more TV one watches, the more fear they are likely to have of the world around them and the more they are likely to believe they are in immediate danger of falling victim to one of these crimes. Maybe if people all watched less network news, we could learn to not be controlled by our own fear. I mean hey, it's working for Canada...

Nature vs. Nurture

Although most scientific evidence points to the idea that nature and nurture share equal roles in the upbringing of the individual, I tend to somewhat disagree. I don't doubt that both play some role in shaping one's persona, but I believe nature has a larger impact than nurture. This idea can be supported by the numerous success stories you always hear about someone coming from a broken home and growing up to make something of themselves. Growing up in a loveless home can certainly have a profound affect on one's future, but often that can push that individual even further to strive for success. This converse of this also works. There are plenty of people who grow up in a privileged lifestyle, taught values from their parents such as loyalty, hard work, and persistence. Yet despite this upbringing, some people are simply unable to make anything of themselves. They grow up to experience little success and can often lead a life that is seemingly unfit for someone who was raised in such an environment. The way you're nurtured may instill you with a specific set of morals, but it's ultimately the environment that plays the largest role in the future.